A struggling musician was caught on camera giving a stranger $5. When TikTokers discovered his generosity, they came together to boost his career.
TikTok: @mdmotivator, Zachery Dereniowski
- Musician David Kamara gave $5 to a man on the street, unaware it was a famous TikToker.
- The video received over 11.4 million views, and comments praised Kamara's generosity.
- TikToker Zachery Dereniowski encouraged his millions of followers to support Kamara's music.
TikTok viewers have rushed to the support of a musician after his generosity was displayed in a hidden-camera video that went viral on the app.
On February 17, TikTok creator Zachery Dereniowski, who has 14.1 million followers, uploaded a video that showed him standing on a street outside the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada, holding a yellow, smiley-face balloon, asking if anyone would like to buy it from him for one dollar.
The video showed multiple people turn down the balloon and walk away from the TikToker, until 30-year-old David Kamara approached him to offer a flyer. When Dereniowski asked what the flyer was for, Kamara said he was a musician.
Kamara said he "grew up in the hood" and used to buy dollar-store microphones, adding, "I never knew it'd manifest into this."
Dereniowski then asked if he had a spare dollar to buy his balloon. Kamara offered to e-transfer Dereniowski $5 instead, saying, "A dollar is not going to do much," and went on to play him some of his music.
In response to the generosity, Dereniowski gave Kamara the balloon, telling him he could use it to "manifest" whatever his wish was. Kamara let the balloon go wishing for a Grammy, before Dereniowski said he had a surprise for him.
Dereniowski then handed Kamara what appeared to be a bundle of cash, saying it was $2,000 for him to put towards his music career. Kamara responded by saying, "I can't believe you just did that bro. Nobody would do that for me." He then said he had "so many brothers and sisters back in Africa," that he sends money to, and he would send some of the $2,000 to them.
The TikToker then revealed he was filming the interaction with a hidden camera, and he had millions of followers who he said would stream Kamara's music. An on-screen caption appeared that said Kamara's work was available on Spotify and Apple.
The clip went viral, and is already impacting Kamara's career
The video received over 11 million views and 9,000 comments, many of which reacted to Kamara's kindness and music. "You got yourself a new fan david kamara," read a comment with over 1,800 likes. "Just looked up David Kamara on Spotify. Talented guy," read which another which received over 26,800 likes.
Kamara told Insider he had been handing out flyers for around three or four days to promote a local show he was hosting when he bumped into the TikToker, and said he had no idea who he was. "I just thought he needed money," Kamara said, adding he didn't give it too much thought as, "I try not to judge." He thought the TikToker may be stranded and in need of money to get home, which is why he offered more than the dollar Dereniowski asked for.
In shock from the interaction, Kamara said he didn't even ask who the TikToker was at the time, and continued handing out flyers with the $2,000 in his pocket. "Then when I got home I just saw a bunch of social media responses and tags and stuff and then I was led to the video," he told Insider.
According to Kamara, the TikTok impacted his social media accounts "tremendously" as he estimated his following grew by "three or four times." He said he had about 16,000 followers on Instagram beforehand, and now has over 63,900 followers. He was also very new to TikTok and said he had around 40 followers, which grew to over 43,600.
On Spotify, Kamara's most popular song "Replay" now has over 144,000 plays, and his second most popular "For you" has been listened to over 136,000 times.
Kamara said he will use a portion of the $2,000 to cover the expenses of the show he was flyering for, which will include security and accommodation for the other artists on the bill. He said he sent money back home to his family in Sierra Leone, and additionally gave some money back to fans of Dereniowski who contacted him and explained their own personal situations.
Dereniowski asked for his permission to release the clip, Kamara said, adding they had been in touch every day since they connected, and he considers him a friend at this point. "I'd like to thank Zach, thank everybody, thank all the people who are reaching out to me," Kamara told Insider. "Thank you for taking the time to listen, I'm glad you like it."
Kamara has been making music full-time since 2020, and plans to host more shows, hoping to ultimately create a brand that represents musicians from different cities and cultures within Canada.
Dereniowski makes hidden-camera videos on TikTok where he asks strangers for favors such as a spare dollar or for free food and rewards them with day trips or a large amount of money for their generosity.
His videos combined have over 583 million likes.
For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.